Match preview: Atlético vs Osasuna

Red and whites looking to continue momentum in Osasuna test

Atlético Madrid are searching for league win number six this season on Tuesday evening with a home clash against lowly Osasuna in the Vicente Calderón.

With an 100% record so far and the Madrid derby to come on Saturday, the team are looking to continue their winning run and also continue building confidence, as well as perhaps rest a few players ahead of the weekend.

Kick-off in the Spanish capital is set for 22:00 CET.

Last year, Diego Simeone masterminded Atleti’s best start to a season since the doblete year of 1995-96, but has somehow managed to better that this time round with a resounding five wins from five so far.

In what is just his second full year in charge, the Argentine boss has already swept aside Sevilla, Rayo, Real Sociedad, Almería and Real Valladolid, and again there are suggestions that the red and whites could provide a real threat to the top two.

However, the message from the club again is that it’s a strictly a game-by-game approach, so for now our only focus is on toppling Osasuna and not our eternal rivals in next weekend’s repeat of the Copa del Rey final.

Simeone confirmed in his press conference that we’ll see five changes tomorrow evening from the side that won at Valladolid, meaning valuable rest for a few players ahead of el derbi.

New signing Josuha Guilavogui won’t be one of those coming in though, nor will teenage trio Óliver Torres, Javier Manquillo, who put in a good shift at the weekend, and José Giménez, who all join the injured Adrián in the stands for technical reasons.

Emiliano Insúa is back in the squad and may get a rare appearance, with Daniel Aranzubia for B-team stopper Bono the only other change. Fans will also be hoping for first glimpses of Toby Alderweireld and Léo Baptistão from the start.

In his press conference, Cholo addressed the issue of competing in three important competitions and having to play two matches a week, but remained calm and confident in his workforce.

“Our main challenge for this year is the extra demand of playing in the Champions League,” he said. “It’s tough, but there is no reason for us to move away from what we have been doing.”

“The team know that the effort made to beat Valladolid would not be sufficient if we do not follow it up with this win at home, so we must keep working and progressing.”

Los Rojillos got their season up and running last week by beating Elche, and are now looking to move on and get more points on the board under new manager Javi Gracia.

“Obviously when a new coach comes in it gives chances for players who maybe haven’t played to impress. They have had difficulties and injury problems, but I’m sure their win on Friday has raised the spirit,” said Simeone.

“However, for us there is no better time to be a fan after several wins in a row, and we look forward to having lots of people in the stadium to see the team tomorrow. Hopefully we can move forward together.”

The likes of Roberto Torres, Álvaro Cejudo, Miguel Flaño, Nino and ex-rojiblanco Miguel de las Cuevas will all remain home when Osasuna make the trip south, and Javi Gracia acknowledged the sizable task facing his team when speaking on Monday.

“Atlético defend and fight very well, play a high intensity game and are dangerous especially on set pieces, they will be hard to stop,” he told local media.

“We go with the intention of taking the points at stake, but know this is difficult due to the opponent’s high level.”

Why doesn’t Leo have a Azerbaijan logo on his shirt? haha. Looking forward to the game and I believe we will win decisively even if we start 2-3 new boys.

GreekRojiblanco(piserakos)

alex if i was looking correct(i saw the game throu internet and the quality was awful) our champions league t-shirt don’t have on the the azerbaijan logo… that’s why… i don’t know why maybe the deal didn’t conclude cl games. someone who knows something please reply

so probably i was wrong there was a sponsor…. beka that’s a little wird i will go with tommy probably an accident… we will see at the next games

Ahmad Hossainy

TOMMY, you are right .. Leo entered the pitch wearing a sponsor-free shirt, and he scored the goal with that shirt, but a minute later he changed that shirt and wore one with Azerbaijan on it
I guess ALEX21 didn’t watch the game,
and PISERAKOS : the quality of the stream you watched the game on must was very very bad that you couldn’t tell if the team shirts had a sponsor or not !
and to answer your question : of course the deal with Azerbaijan included the Champions League, in fact if they had to choose between La Liag and CL they would choose the CL, it’s more important and is watched by much more people in much more countries

and BEKA & KRIS : I’m so sorry, but this is not interesting, this is ridiculous, a player can not just refuse to wear a shirt because he doesn’t like the sponsor or because it’s against his country or his religion or his principles

I remember when some Muslim players refused to wear shirts with Gambling or beer companies on it, but finally they wore it, Kanoute is one example

players have contracts with the clubs, and the clubs have contracts with the sponsors and everybody must respect his contract, and if a player really have a problem with a sponsor he can leave the club .. there are too many clubs out there

and why would Leo start in Zenit game to take a stand against Azerbaijan after he wore the shirt with the logo in 4 official games, 3 friendly games and about 100 training sessions ?!!

I guess that Russian commentator has a really bad sense of humor

now let’s talk about the game:

Simeone have said in the press conference that there will be 5 changes from the side that won at Valladolid .. who well be those 5 ?
Juanfran and Arda didn’t start in Zorrilla (the first did’t play at all) so these are 2
Tiago also should start, makes them 3
but I believe he should replace Gabi this time, not Mario
our captain has almost played all the possible minutes in all 3 competitions (Liga, Super Cup & CL), he only missed 30 minutes when he been replaced by Koke against Almeria at min 60

so Juanfran, Arda & Tiago .. who are the other 2 ?
are they gonna be Insua & Toby for Filipe & Godin, who are -with Courtios- the only players who played all possible minutes in all 3 competitions (except the 9 minutes Filipe missed after his red card vs Barca)
it’s good to see Insua and Alderweireld playing as they didn’t have any minutes yet, but making 2 changes in the defense makes me worried, stability in the defense is very important and one change is enough
so is Simeone going to start with both of Toby & Insua or with only one of them,
and if only one, so the 5th change can only be one of the 2 strikers : Villa & Costa .. so would Leo make his first start of the season ?!

will see tonight Insha’ Allah

kris

I was commenting about Leo being Armenian and his name being Baptistan.
oh [email protected] the game is tomorrow, not on wednesday.. Thanks for reminding me Ahmad, ahha, almost forgot. Oh thank god, and the timing is perfect as well.. Again, I am expecting a 2-0 win for Atletico as we won’t be playing our regulars but with Miranda starting on the backline, I am sure we won’t concede..

Alex21

Damn Ahmad, I’m all for opinions, but you don’t have to be a douche about it. We all love Atleti just as much as you do.

Dircil

Could anyone make a comparison between Leo and Salvio pls? Any opinion would be appreciated!!

Nick Poskitt

When I selected the picture I didn’t think it would spark this much of a debate, haha.

Leo is much a strike and can also play as a wide winger while Salvio is much a winger… Ahmad hossain do you have facebook account? if yes dis my username you can search me @aabdulmusa.

Ahmad Hossainy

@ALEX21 : I thought Beka and Kris are the ones who could get mad, not you !
is that because I said you didn’t watch the game ?! well many people had a problem watching it and some were asking in this website for a link
me too watched it on the internet, and I well watch all Atleti games in group stages on the internet (if I was lucky and found a link) because we play in the same day with FC Basel and Barcelona, and those are the 2 games our Cable supplier will choose every time because Basel have an Egyptain player, Mohammad Salah (who by the way I wish Atleti sign him) and Barca is Barca

so I didn’t mean to offended you .. and if I did I’m deeply sorry
and I’m sorry too for you BEKA & KRIS, I was talking about that Russian comentator, it had nothing to do with you Beka, you just mentioned what you heard
you and everybody in this website are my friends

it’s all your fault Nick 😛

@DIRCIL, this is a great point,
Salvio was a very good player, very young and very promising
yes we had to let him go because there was only one non-EU spot left for him and Diego Costa and Simeone made a great decision and chose Costa, but we could have sent him on loan and then get him back when we have a spot
but of course there was (as usual) the money problem

and about comparing between him and Leo, I believe it’s too early to judge Leo .. he needs to take his complete chance,
beside that although they both attackers but they play in different positions and they have different styles

@AHMAD 9JA:
yes I do have a facebook account, but I don’t use it very often, I’m not a facebook guy, I’m a twitter guy, and this is my twitter account
@A_Hossainy

GreekRojiblanco(piserakos)

dircil… salvio ir a right winger(cebolla is left winger) he is too quick with fantastic techique but a little short and weak… leo is a center forward(striker, false’9′ or on the back of the striker), he can play also as a winger but it is not his position. He is stronger and taller he is quick but not as much salvio was and with great techique(i can’t compare him yet with salvio at this point) he looks like adrian style of play with more scoring abilities or (according to what i believe fernando torres abilities)

Gabi is tooo important for us, he will rest when Guillavogui will be ready to subs him.

dircil

Salvio is one of my favorite member of the squad that won the 2nd EL championship and Leo has something resembles to his skills so I asked u guys make a comparison for me. Anyway, thanks for ur opinion.

Pantic#10

Salvio was one of my favourite too. He really helped the team to won that EL.
He and Leo are both really fast and skilled.
Leo can be a winger and a strong forward. Probably Salvio is better as a winger.

Alex21

Ahmad, it’s cool man. I was pissed i missed both the Zenit and Valladolid games. I went out of town to a family ordeal and had to miss both of them. I watched the Liga match replay but still haven’t been able to watch the CL match. I guess it just hit a nerve with me and I’m sorry i overreacted.

kris

Guys, come on, I think we shouldn’t start RG8 in the wings at all.. The guy is horrible there, can’t even make a single good cross and doesn’t even add any creativity,, his perfect position, now, seems like maybe behind the strikers or as a CF. That’s why I want Oliver to start one of these matches because he can give great passes crosses, and remember that ball from Koke to Costa in the last game?? He has specialized on those already, and that will help the strikers assist the other striker or just score them themselves, and his wing changing balls are incredible and accurate most of the times,, the guy is our third best option when it comes to creativity, so when both Koke and Arda aren’t starting, why not start Oliver??

I really don’t have anything against RG8 when he is scoring but when he isn’t scoring, he does nothing at all.. but I love the hard work he puts in for the team and that is always good for any team, he’s dedicated.

dircil

@alex21: there is a software called sopcast which allows you to watch almost all of the football matches of any major leagues or tournaments in europe. If u have it in ur computer, watching A.Madrid playing in CL is not a problem anymore. In case that u’re not familiar with the software and need some instruction, here is my email: [email protected] for contact. It’s a bit tricky to know how to use it at the beginning but when u’re used to it, it would take no effort to run the software. The hardest thing is to find the match link to watch but it should be fine if I instruct u.

pantic#10

I think Raoul Garcia does his best in the 4-2-3-1 formation
Playing as one of the 3 offensive midfielders. moving on the attack front as a “falso 9”.

Why is it that we always have little supporters at the Calderon. Against Zenit it was not full and now it’s barely occupied. Our team needs all the support and I was wondering why.? Anyone has a logical answer?

I’m following the match in a Spanish channel and they are really fans of Koke:
“And the cross that Koke did… well.. what to say? It’s Koke..”

pantic#10

I’m watching it on Canal+ spanish channel too 🙂

Jelle

It’s great!!
Is there anyone who have English commentators? Link.. 🙂

pantic#10

Baptistao very close to score.
Inured Mario? warm up for Gabi.
Osasuna needs to play better if they wont to stay in La Liga.
opss…Osasuna scored right now….

kris

That was horrible defending for the Osasuna goal.. CANNOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE EVER AGAIN!! WE WERE SLEEPING!!

Will

Yeah.. bad defending.. they only had one thing with that cross and they did. I think it was a cross for Courtois. Let’s keep the press and it will be easy anyway.

Jelle

Any one with at link to a streaming with English commentators? 😉

pantic#10

I’ve found only spanish streaming

kris

SO, with these two goals Costa moves ahead of Messi in top goalscorer or the same amount of goals?? Damn, I hope he can get one more so that he tops the best player in the world for once..

kris

Jelle, why do you want to watch in English commentary? It’s boring anyways.. Spanish commentary is fun even if you don’t understand it.. Three years ago, I used to be the same but then I found out how fun Spanish was. ahha.. :))

kris

I hope nothing is wrong with Mario.. We need him for the rest of the season to be well..

Thanks, Pantic! I didn’t know this website… but I’m at work and I can’t use sopcast here. I have to get a “web flash” link on rojadirecta.

Atleti is not playing very well now.. Osasuna is much better in the defense now.

kris

How the hell does Juanfran get booked for that when the opposition player clearly pushed him with his hands?? Doesn’t the linesman know that you are only allow to shoulder your opposition and not push with your hands??
UYY.. Arda… COME ON!!

pantic#10

We should have score 5 goals at least in this match..
Tiago has drunk some vitamins 🙂

kris

6 out of 6, but a horrendous 2nd half.. This can’t happen against Los Blancos..

pantic#10

We won, this is important.
What a weird match…
now let’s focus on Real Madrid (and Porto right after).
Goodnight to all of you!

Silchas

Whose fault was the goal?
the ref because he didn’t see the foul on koke?
Mario for his foul?
or imo Insua for not marking his player?

starvs

Second half really wasn’t good enough, can’t be playing like that if we want a legit shot at winning the league, but it was good enough this time thankfully.

Got the three points and maintained momentum before derby, in the end all that matters.